Gerrard, Scholes and Keane are three of a kind, yet each one is unique

Steven Gerrard didn’t play in a team as good as the United side graced by Paul Scholes and Roy Keane (even when Liverpool won the Champions League they finished fifth in the league). But there’s no doubt he is a top player — he just played at the top level in a lesser team.

Ferguson said there was some relief in the dressing room once Keane left the club, but from the outside he always looked like their most important player. I thought Patrick Vieira was better but it was always a ferocious battle when they met.

Icon: Steven Gerrard has scored 100 Premier League goals from the Liverpool midfield

Keane started and finished his career in the years of the midfield enforcer but there has been a shift in perception over the past few years, which is partly why Scholes is so celebrated.

With teams such as Barcelona and Spain proving so successful, Scholes’ technical abilities are more widely appreciated.

For three quite different players, they had one thing in common: they were all winners. None of them respected reputation, not even when they were breaking into the game. They did not care who they were playing against, they always played to win.

Midfield greats: Roy Keane (left) and Paul Scholes were both as good as Gerrard